St. Thomas hosted the sixth annual Run for Ronald charity race for the Ronald McDonald House Charities on Saturday. Participants ran around campus twice before arriving at the finish line next to the Anderson Student Center.
The event was started five years ago by St. Thomas sophomore Gabriel Riegert, whose brother, Mason, was born with a congenital heart defect. His family moved into a Ronald McDonald house and the organization helped his family, which Riegert is grateful for.
“We want to give back to the kindness (the Ronald McDonald house) gave us when we were there getting that medical attention,” Riegert said.
Mason later passed away, and the run is also in memory of him, according to the Ronald McDonald House Charities website. The charity helps provide a safe community close to a hospital for injured and seriously ill children across five locations in Minnesota.
“By doing this race, I can help families that are in the same or similar situation as mine was many years ago,” Riegert wrote on the event page.
Riegert, a runner himself, helped organize and run the event along with volunteers from the Ronald McDonald house.
“A lot of people know someone who is going through some sort of health condition, so this is a way to rally the community and provide outreach,” Greta Hanson, a volunteer with the organization, said.
Hanson and fellow volunteer Alison Wong helped run the event. Both seniors at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities on the pre-health track, they were looking to get involved on campus when they started volunteering their freshman year at the Ronald McDonald house, which has a location close to the university’s campus.
The event saw a turnout of around 40 people, including St. Thomas students, staff, and community members. Wong hopes that events like these will help increase visibility around these issues and get more of the community involved.
“I hope this inspires people to keep going when times are rough,” Hanson said.
Anya Capistrant-Kinney can be reached at capi2087@stthomas.edu.